Artist of the Month, June 2008

LuChi

 

 


Sword of Freedom 2007
24" x 4" x 3"

Click on the small images below to enlarge.

"Working in glass is a truly unique experience. I use a great deal of intuition when I am creating as well as letting the technical process itself guide me, hopefully to a new place each time. Oftentimes the outcome of each seemingly "controlled" technical effort is quite a surprise, contributing to the adventures and misadventures of working in glass.

In the piece Triangular Dusk, I made use of the inherent properties of the glass, particularly the fact that the color of glass is dramatically affected by the thickness. Dawn and dusk are the most colorful times of any given day, and I wanted to impart this dynamic transitional "dance" into my glass, while the straight lines in the piece represent the boundaries that must be crossed for this to happen.

For the most part, I work with kiln-formed glass, creating sculpture by the processes of casting, fusing and slumping. Sometimes, my pieces are combined with glassblowing and lampowrking techniques. I try to keep it fresh by 'playing' with the glass, using my curioisity as a means to get to an unpredictable end.

In Bridge and Reflection, I put the clear 'reflection part under the dark 'bridge' part. The transparent property of the glass lets the clear reflection part merge down with the water background as it would in nature.

       

In The Moon in The Water, I put an opaque black crystal between two transparent hollowed out pieces to stress the visual contrast.

I like to think that I do not imitate, copy, or replace nature in any way, but instead create a lasting impression of it. I make mountains, sun, moon, water, plants and animals, all the beautiful things that nature has provided us with as inspiration. For me, nature contains all the elements needed to create artwork; the viewer only needs to interpret. My glass art embraces nature with an analytical attitude, and then proceeds to recompose the elements presented in a new way. From this point of view, the essence of nature is nonconformity and ambiguity. Nature itself is composed of free space and imagination. This thought process is the driving force behind pieces such as Ridge of the Earth and 60 Springs.

Here, the initial impression of nature no longer stays on the surface of the form. The overall impact acts on the subconscious in an alluring and nearly indefinable way.60 Springs is based on a mysterious oasis in the middle of the LopNur desert in West China that has sixty underground springs. The local people refer to this desert as the "Sea of Death," because it is so desolate. Local lore says that nobody can survive unless they find the sixty springs. No human has yet succeeded; however, mystery has it that a herd of wild horses thrive there. 60 Springs symbolizes the hope we all have in our heart that we can quench our deep thirst. I retained many hollowed out parts in this piece to represent that feeling.

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


LuChi


Click here for a curriculum vitae of the artist.


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We are grateful to Leo Kaplan Modern, New York, for providing the materials for the Artist of the Month.

The Artist of the Month for July will be Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott, with materials provided by Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery..

 

Click here to return to Artists Of The Month index.

 

last updated on 15 may 2008.


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